Sunday, February 01, 2015

You’re coming to NYC? Here
are some of the general suggestions I share with friends and friend of friends
headed to the city for some fun. Private tours available on request. People
write entire books on this stuff but these suggestions come up again and again,
so I thought I'd write them down.

NEW YORK CITY TIPS FOR TOURISTS AND THOSE WHO
DON'T WANT TO LOOK LIKE ONE

WHEN SHOULD YOU VISIT? -- During the week. Anything and everything is
busier and more difficult on weekends. So any time of the year, if you are
lucky enough to swing it, spend as many week days in the city as possible. You
can still do stuff on the weekends, but I save those days for events you need a
ticket, like the theater. If it’s tourist sites and museums and the like,
weekdays are much easier. And don’t drive in the city. Driving is easy but
having a car is a pain and will add mightily to your stress.

WHAT SHOULD YOU WEAR? -- Comfortable shoes. Seriously. You’ll be
walking a lot. If you MUST have nice shoes for the theater or some restaurant, carry them in a bag and change right before the event.

HOW SHOULD YOU GET AROUND? -- Public transportation. Or cabs and Uber if
you must or it's raining. If you’re in the city, a weekly MetroCard gets you
access to buses and subways everywhere. Definitely the way to go and it’s
FASTER than cabs in most situations.

IS IT SAFE? Yes. New York City is the safest major city in
the US. Crime has fallen over the world in developed nations to 50 year lows,
so NYC is not alone. But it’s safe even by those standards. You’d have to
struggle to find an unsafe area in Manhattan and I could tell you about Brooklyn
but I can’t afford to live there. I assume it’s safe too. :) One tip: never
hang your purse or bag on the back of your chair in a cafe or restaurant or bar
or anywhere. Keep your stuff in FRONT of you and visible. Between your legs
(not pushed back towards the aisle) or on the table. Don’t put your cell phone
down anywhere and just step back to the counter to get some extra sugar. A cell
phone is very easy to snag and go. This is true everywhere in the world,
though, not NYC in particular. But again, never hang your bag/purse/messenger
bag on the seat so it’s behind you.

THE STATUE OF LIBERTY -- visiting the Statue can be an all-day
affair. Never go on weekends. You can book tickets in advance if you want to
lock yourself in and are really determined to go. But since going up the statue
is another long wait of hours once you reach the island and half the time it is
closed for one reason or another anyway, I don’t recommend going. (If you want
Ellis Island, you can go directly there. It’s nice for the historic feel of the
place though the actual exhibits on display are pretty thin stuff.) Instead…

THE STATEN ISLAND FERRY -- this is a FREE ferry leaving from the bottom
tip of Manhattan. During the day it leaves every 15 minutes. Late at night it
leaves every half hour and then every hour in the wee hours of the morning
before dawn. Want an up-close look at the Statue of Liberty without all the
bother? This is the way to go. You head down to the bottom of Manhattan,
clamber into the big room bustling with people and jump on the ferry. Here’s
another tip: work your way to the front of the crowd of people waiting. Jump as
soon as the doors open and head immediately to the right/starboard side of the
boat. Head right away to the outside area and move towards the front of the
ship and stand right at the rail. Don’t sit down on the tempting benches
because other people will show up, stand at the rail and block your view. Stay
at the rail for the entire short journey to Staten Island and you’ll get a
great, camera-worthy look at the Statue. You can get off at Staten Island (the
only stop) and make an immediate u-turn and get on the next ferry headed back
to Manhattan. Not much to see on Staten Island unless there’s a minor league
baseball game and that’s your thing. On the way back? Head to the absolute
front of the ship as if you’re impatient to get off. Stand on the side so you
can hold onto something. (When it stops, you’ll get a jolt and the tourists
fall over and look silly and the locals sneer.) You’ll have a terrific view of
the Manhattan skyline from the water as the boat slides into its slip. So for a
free ride, you get a great view of the Statue of Liberty, a glimpse of Staten
Island and a great view of the Manhattan skyline from the water. You can skip
the laborious all-day journey to the Statue and a Circle Line boat tour of the
city for a journey that’s quick (less than 90 minutes) and free.

(On the 1 train you want
the South Ferry stop, the last one in Manhattan headed downtown; check which
stops on which lines you want since not all are terribly close to the ferry.
And a special note: you want to be in the front of the train on the 1 line, the
first five cars, when getting off at South Ferry because it’s an old station.
They’ll make an announcement about a hundred times as you get close, so no
worries.)

THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING -- Go at night! During the day, you’ll often
find long lines. Then when you get to the observation deck...you’ll find crowds
of people. But the Empire State Building is open until 2 am. (Hey, it’s the
city that never sleeps.) The last elevator going up is at 1:15 am, seven days a
week.) So wait for a night when you’ve got a little energy and after dinner or
a show when the weather is nice and you’re up for a quick jaunt, head to the
Empire State Building. You’ll usually find short lines after 9 or 10 and ZERO lines after 11 pm. Go right up to the observation
deck and there you’ll find people, but not the massive, stuffed crowds you
would during a sunny day. You get a gorgeous glimpse of the city at night, it’s
romantic and fun and best of all it’s quick and easy. Say hi to Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan while you're at it.

THE 9/11 MEMORIAL AND
MUSEUM -- The 9/11 Memorial is free
and open to the public. You don’t need a ticket or have to arrange a timed
entry. It’s open all day from 7:30 am to 9 at night. As with anything and
everything in NYC, weekdays are better than weekends. There’s also a museum --
you need a ticket and must choose a date and time in advance. I’ve never gone
so can’t speak to it. The 9/11 Memorial is well worth a visit -- it’s just a
terrific work of art and elegantly simple and moving, much like Maya Lin’s
Vietnam Memorial. I honestly had no interest in going whatsoever to either one,
but found it quite moving and aesthetically pleasing and am glad I went. Also, friends say the guided tour and view from observation deck are good if you want the full experience.

If you go in the winter (Jan-Feb) or summer,
you can get lucky. Lots of shows have cheaper tickets and better seats. Or you
can at least GET a ticket. The absolute hottest shows are always expensive and
difficult. (Unlike London, where the West End is always cheaper and more convenient
and easier to access, even for red-hot shows.) So if you’re a theater buff,
plan in advance and buy your tickets to that one show you want way in advance.
If you’re on a budget or just want to wing it, enjoy a morning wandering the
theater district and hitting some box offices and the TDF booth in Times
Square. Hint: sometimes great seats are available for that night’s show or the
NEXT day. Checking in on Thursday about performances on Friday and the weekend is not fruitless, esp for single tickets.
Check in Monday at the box office for Tuesday and so on. You get the idea. But no, I can’t get
you house seats to [fill in name of the hottest show everyone wants a ticket to].
Off Broadway has great stuff too. In general, I’d rather see a new show with
the original cast than a long-running show with their second or third or
fifteenth cast, but everyone is different and every show is different so have
fun and do what works for you.

Enter lotteries. Why not?
You can always turn them down. If you’re in the city during the summer, you can
enter the lottery for Shakespeare in the Park. That’s an awesome event in and
of itself and a great NYC tradition and a fun way to enjoy Central Park at night.

What should you wear? Wear
what is fun for you. If you spent a lot of money and want to wear a nice suit
or dress, go ahead. You’ll look great, even at matinees. But yes, the days of
dressing to the nines for a Broadway show are a thing of the past. When you’ve
been schlepping around all day, sometimes you don’t have time to get back to
your hotel and change. It’s ok. Shorts and flip flops aren’t cool and many
people are so dressed down you’d think you were in line to go to a Chuck E.
Cheese. So it’s hipper to be dressed nicely; but khakis and a dress shirt or even
a tucked in polo for a guy will be fine. Of course,
Friday and Saturday night are dressier than week nights, matinees are more
casual and family shows more casual still. If you must wear fancy shoes (and in
my book, the higher the heel, the lower the IQ), but again if you MUST, carry
them in your backpack/bag/purse and replace the sensible walking shoes you've had on at the
last minute. Do NOT walk around all day in heels, ever.

Bathrooms -- here’s a good
tip. If you have tickets in hand, arrive at least half an hour before show
time. If you are picking them up at the box office, arrive 45 minutes before
show time. An HOUR before showtime, you should stop drinking. No water. Nothing.
Especially women but men too. Broadway houses are getting a little better. But
often you are talking about a very small number of restrooms and a lot of
people trying to use them during the 15 minute intermission. Women make up a
majority of theater-goers and at a female-centric show like “Wicked” the
numbers go even higher. Depending on where you are sitting (people on the aisle
can jump up and run; I’ve done it) you can be trapped and take ten minutes just
to get to the very long line for the restroom. In short, you do not want to use
the rest room during the intermission. Stop drinking at least one hour before
showtime. Arrive at the theater early. HEAD TO THE RESTROOM even if you don’t
have to go. A lot of shows are two and half hours long. Some are 90
minutes...but have no break. In either case, use the restroom before the show.
Enjoy looking around the theater and the sense of occasion. (And don’t sit down
right away in your seats for a while. Just stand there because you’re about to
be sitting for two plus hours.) Smile when other people start leaping up for
the rest room or to grab a drink at the bar or to buy a souvenir. (Don’t bother.
Drinks are super expensive and you can buy souvenirs if you want before or
after with no rush.) Just stand and stretch and relax and enjoy the break while
you people watch.

Where's my theater? --
Google Maps! Type in most Broadway shows (not to mention most long-running Off
Broadway shows) and Google Maps will find it for you. Type in
"Hamilton" and they'll pinpoint the Richard Rodgers at 226 West 46th
St. Very handy!

AMY’S BREAD -- the BEST slices of cake (and sometimes pie)
and fresh bread and baked goodies. Before or after a night at the theater or
for dessert, try Amy’s Bread. They’re on Ninth Ave between 46 and 47th Street.
Check the hours of course for everything I say but they are open seven days a
week: till 9 pm Sundays and Mondays, till 10 on Tues and Wed and till 11
Thur-Sat. The perfect end to a night, especially if you go see “Waitress” and the
constant smell of baking pies has you hungry.

THE MET MUSEUM/FRICK -- The Met Museum is a must-see for many and for
good reason. There are LOTS of museums in NYC and let your interests be your
guide. The Folk Art Museum is fun and not overwhelming. (Closed Mondays) The
Tenement Museum is great for history buffs. (Make sure you get a walking tour
and make sure you ask them or friends who have gone or look online -- some tour
guides are a lot better than others.) The Sex Museum, sadly, is no great
shakes. MOMA of course is as iconic as the Met. And one could go one.

I’ll stick to the Met. If
you’re from outside New York State, you have to pay. This stinks since it was
free to everyone until a minute ago. It’s also no big deal since tourists
almost always thought they had to pay and did anyway. Nonetheless, free
admission made it different from most every other major museum in the world and
I will fight to have that happen again. If you're with a New Yorker, they can bring a guest in from out of town and both can pay what they want or nothing. So make your NYC friend join you at the Met if you've got one. The Met is open seven days a week from 10
am to 5:30 on Sundays-Thursdays and till 9 pm on Fridays and Saturdays. Some
museums have free access on certain evenings but they tend to be jammed year
round. Go on a Monday! And don’t spend more than two to three hours. You can
spend days looking at everything but after a few hours, it’s definitely a
question of diminishing returns. Leave and wish you could stay longer rather
than stay and feel your feet dragging.

And here’s a tip: the Frick
Museum. It’s located near the Met Museum. (Closed Mondays.) It’s a nice little
pocket museum and a great way to start. You can dip in, see some art, it’s
usually not crowded the way the Met and most museums are and they’ve got some marvelous Vermeers. You can go to the Frick and
in two minutes be standing in front of a Vermeer and soak it in at your
leisure. (Like most art, images of them in a book don’t do justice.)

Finally the Met annex
called The Cloisters is a great visit way up in Manhattan. You’ll swear you are
in another world from the city, get a good glimpse of nature and if you like
medieval and religious art, it’s a must.

BOOKSTORES -- THE
STRAND/BOOK CULTURE -- You can
find some indie bookstores here and there throughout the city. God bless them
all. There are theater book stores (Drama Books in the theater distric) and kids
books (Books Of Wonder on 18th St and hole in the walls everywhere. But they are
fading away, I fear. It’s all about two remaining giants: The Strand at
Broadway and 12th St open till 10:30 pm seven days a week. It’s bursting with
new books and especially endless aisles of used and rare and out of print books
on three giant floors. If you love books and browsing, a quick stop inside can
last hours. Very similar but less well known is Book Culture at 112th St
between Broadway and Amsterdam and near Columbia. It’s an unofficial student
bookstore so you’ll find lots of course books piled here and there. But like
the Strand it also has a huge collection of used, rare and out of print books
in every conceivable category.

CENTRAL PARK -- It’s great. Go! Strawberry Fields by the
Dakota is a must-see, near the West 72nd St entrance. Otherwise, wander to your heart’s intent. One great thing
to do when you’re heading to the Met museum from the West Side or vice versa is
to explore the park simply by going across it. There are buses at certain
streets to jump across the park but no easy subway lines. So at some point, if
you wanna be there instead of here, just walk across the park and enjoy.

Food. Music. Neighborhoods.
Walking tours. Other boroughs. Movies. A thousand things come to mind and if
you tell me what interests you have that will spark some ideas. But these are the tips I provide time and time again to friends and friends of friends headed
to NYC for the first time. When I moved, I was staying on 103rd Street and
Broadway. I started walking down Broadway one day and went all the way to the
bottom of the island. The next day? Fifth Avenue. The next day? Ninth Avenue
and so on and on, just to see the changing neighborhoods. It’s as fun and
engaging as anything you could plan out reading Fodors. Don’t schedule yourself
to death! Take the time to just wander and relax and feel like a New Yorker.
Curse if the mood strikes you. We won’t mind.